How to size your home battery backup for outages, solar integration, and energy resilience.
Power outages caused by extreme weather, aging infrastructure, and rolling blackouts have left homes more vulnerable, prompting homeowners to pair storage with rooftop solar or install a home battery without solar for reliable backup power and lower utility bills. In fact, U.S. home battery storage grew 64% in 2024 alone, with about half a million households now equipped to store their own electricity for use during outages or peak-rate hours.
Drawing on both industry research and real-world project data, here are some tips on how to estimate your essential daily energy needs, choose a battery size that matches your outage tolerance, understand how solar panels and storage go together, and compare options tailored for homes in both the U.S. and Canada.
In this article:
- What is a home battery backup system?
- How to determine your home’s backup battery needs
- How to calculate the right battery size for your needs
- How solar panels affect battery backup sizing
- Choosing the Home Battery That’s Right for You
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is a home battery backup system?
A home battery backup system stores electricity for later use so you can use it when the grid goes down or when utility rates are at their highest. As we mentioned above, battery backups are becoming more common as homeowners look for ways to protect themselves from outages and rising energy costs. They also help navigate changes to net metering policies, such as California’s NEM 3.0, which has lowered
